Reid said he was disappointed by the 59-40 vote to end debate, but gave his thanks to several GOP senators for making a “difficult” vote for cloture. Most Republicans objected to the bill on the grounds that it would raise taxes on oil and gas companies.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t pick up one more vote,” Reid said in a floor statement immediately after the vote. “We’re going to push the bill today if at all possible.”

Dropping the tax package, he said, would still leave a bill that would lift fuel efficiency standards by requiring an automaker’s fleet to average 35 miles per gallon.

“What we’re going to wind up with is still historic,” Reid said.

Seeking GOP support, Democrats have already dropped a controversial provision from the bill that would have required utilities to get more of their electricity from renewable sources. A bill that included that provision won only 53 votes on the Senate floor a week ago, falling seven votes short of cloture.